The prestigious FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2021 is going to be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha between 24th November and 5th December 2021.
The 16-team tournament will be featuring national teams including India, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, USA, Canada, Chile, and Argentina.
The announcement was made during an event by Odisha Chief Minister, Shri Naveen Patnaik and will see Bhubaneswar host the tournament after successfully hosting the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup as well.
The announcement also comes in continuation with Odisha preparing to host the 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.
Naveen Patnaik during the official launch of the logo of Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2021 said, “Odisha is the hub for hockey in the country and the Odisha State Government will continue to do everything in our capacity to help the sport grow further and achieve further laurels on the world level.”
He further added, “We look forward to welcoming 16 top teams from across the world to participate in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021. We are delighted to be hosts of this prestigious tournament. Our priority will be to ensure a safe environment to compete during these challenging covid times.”
Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, President at FIH, said, “The FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021 is the pinnacle of tournaments for U-21 and is a very important fixture in the FIH calendar. We are delighted that Odisha with their world-class infrastructure are set to host an event of this magnitude. As always, we have been extended full support by the Odisha State Government and, the event will be held following all required Covid-19 protocols.”
Australia and New Zealand won’t be participating in the tournament due to COVID-related international travel restrictions put in place by their respective governments.